Roadway’s many names will remain

It’s a road whose name changes as it stretches onward: State Highway 80, Hopkins Street, Hunter Road, Farm to Market Road 2439. And on Tuesday, despite a recommendation to the contrary, the Planning and Zoning Commission gave a thumbs-down to a proposed name change for the segment of that road between San Antonio Street and Wonder World Drive. 

The San Marcos City Council had directed staff to consider changing the name of that segment of road from Hunter Road to Hopkins Street to “eliminate multiple names along the continuity of a single street,” the P&Z agenda states.

However, P&Z Chair Jim Garber pointed out that changing the name on that segment of road does not eliminate multiple names on a single street. Moreover, he said, “I’ve lived here for 30 years and I had no idea where it changed. Nor did I care.”

Will Parrish from the city planning department gave a presentation on the proposed name change and noted that 330 residents and property owners who would be affected by address changes if the name change is approved. Parrish also said the city had received a petition with 85 signatures on it from residents opposed to the name change. 

During the public hearing on the proposed name change, several residents — mostly from the Elysian Apartments (formerly Purgatory Creek) — asked the commission to vote against the name change, citing the financial burden and paperwork involved in executing an address change. One resident noted that a person’s identity, including street address, is on file with the IRS, banks, credit card companies, credit bureaus and other companies, and is noted on driver’s licenses and voter registration cards. He also noted that right now, the name change occurs at the intersection of San Antonio Street, where the road expands by two lanes, which seems as good a place as any for a name change to occur. 

Commissioner Mark Gleason said he spoke with the owners of Jack’s Roadhouse, which is at the intersection of Hunter Road and San Antonio Street, and found that they get mail for both an address on Hopkins Street and an address on Hunter Road. Gleason said he might consider voting for the change if it didn’t involve hundreds of people having to change their addresses, but as it is, “It’s an undue burden.”

Garber added, “If there were some compelling reasons to do this, I could get on board with it,” but that if he had to go through a change of address, “It would ruin more than a day.”

A motion to deny the name change passed unanimously.